Cup holder devices are known, particularly for use in automotive applications as well as in a variety of furniture applications. These cup holder designs function by providing a support surface and frequently one or more beverage holder surrounding support elements which prevent tipping or spilling of the beverage holder contents during use. Fixed design cup holders exist for furniture applications such as used in movie theater seating configurations and in outdoor furniture. These cup holder designs typically have a support surface for the bottom of the beverage container as well as beverage container side support members or a partial enclosure to retain the beverage container.
Beverage or cup holder designs for use in furniture applications such as reclining chairs and/or sofas are also known which displace from a non-loaded or fully extended position to a container holding or fully depressed position. A biasing device such as a damper is used to control the travel speed and total displacement of a lid or cup holder portion as the beverage container is displaced into and received by the cup holder design. The dampening device can include a latching mechanism which latches the lid or beverage holder support portion in a fully depressed position. Release of the dampening device from the latched position thereafter returns the lid with or without the beverage container to the cup holder fully extended position.
Several disadvantages exist with the current designs of furniture mounted beverage cup holders. The lid or portion of the cup holder which directly supports the beverage container is typically non-removable, therefore if beverage or container held material spills from the container into the cup holder it is difficult or impossible to completely clean the interior of the cup holder. To ensure the damper maintains contact with the lid assembly, the damper or a portion of the damper is commonly affixed to the lid using an adhesive or other mechanical attachment method. This prevents disassembly of the cup holder design in the event that the damper requires replacement. The damper itself is also commonly fixed to the cup holder portion which also makes alignment of the damper more difficult as well as complicating or preventing removal of the damper for replacement, cleaning or repair.
There is therefore a need for a cup holder design which permits a beverage container to be displaced within the cup holder design but which also provides for cleaning and/or maintenance of the cup holder and/or the cup holder displacement mechanism.